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1969: When Winning the Lottery Wasn’t

by Jacqueline Edelberg

Americans tend to remember sacred dates: the day Kennedy got shot or the Twin Towers fell. For many Boomers, there’s another date with an upcoming anniversary: December 1, 1969, the night our government reinstated the draft lottery for the first time since WWII. Every able bodied male between 18 and 26 found out — by dint of a lottery ball drawn from a fish bowl at Selective Service Headquarters — if he was chosen to win the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people. On campuses across the country, 195 was the defining number: under 195 meant trading textbooks for combat boots; over 195, in the words of John Belushi, meant TOGA!

Denis R. O'Neill began publishing articles and short stories in Sports Illustrated, The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, Fly Rod & Reel, Antiques, American Photographer and others. His first original screenplay, "The River Wild", was produced in 1994. His second screenplay, "A Shot At Glory" was released in 2001. He recently self-published: "WHIPLASH – When the Vietnam War rolled a Hand Grenade into the Animal House". Several other projects, including a novelization of "The River Wild", are waiting on deck.